Page 11:Mario Kart Series
Summary After the success of Super Mario World. Nintendo had decided to let Mario and his friends to take a bit of a break from the platforming style of games and take up some sports. One of the first sports games that Mario and friends starred in was Super Mario Kart. Where Mario and friends raced around in Go-Carts. Super Mario Kart (Super NES, 1993) Gameplay The first game was modeled to be simple and to get gamers use to what will be one of the recurring Mario sub-series of games. Unlike F-Zero, Super Mario Kart was more light-hearted, child friendly, and not nearly as fast. But what really differentiates Super Mario Kart from F-Zero is that you can use items that can either hit opponent karts or to temporarily disrupt the track. The game uses the Koopa Troopa shells that you can use against other karts and stun them, making them lose their position in the race. The green shell goes in a straight line whereas red shells are like heat-seeking missiles and target the closest kart to you. There's also banana peels which act as temporarily act as track disruptors that can make any karts slip if they run over the peel. Perhaps the best known item in the Mario Kart series is the lightning bolt, that if used it'll cause opponent karts to shrink, allowing you to not only to get ahead of the other karts, but you can also crush them flat. The tracks are also quite easy to learn and there are 16 altogether. They take either in Doughnut Plains or even Bowser's Castle. Like F-Zero, there are 3 levels of skill which determine the speed and aggressiveness of the opponent karts. The game also uses the "split screen" feature which allows for multiplayer play, not only the second player can compete against you in the races, but also take you on in arenas where you can use the items to see who can pop one player's balloons first. Reception Super Mario Kart was very well received and was quite fun to play especially with the feature of multiplayer and many modes in both single and multiplayer modes. This is the beginning of a sub-series in the Mario franchise. Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64, 1997) Gameplay This is (more or less) like a 3-D version of Super Mario Kart. Mario Kart 64 has more unique tracks with some more difficult obstacles. Unlike Super Mario Kart, there are more obstacles such as cars, cows and chain chomps that get into your way, there's also a train in one of the tracks that you must avoid. What came back is the items that you can use against your opponent with some new items to go along with it such as the Blue Shell which is a disruptor to the 1st place racer. The game also has multiplayer features as it too uses the split screen, but the number of players for Mario Kart 64 can be up to 4 human players as the Nintendo 64 supports more controllers. Reception Once again, the Mario Kart series received much praise from gamers and even those who are Super Mario fans. The 4 player feature is what really made this game one of the best Nintendo 64 games with some of the better multiplayer features (the other games are Starfox 64 and Goldeneye). Mario Kart: Super Circuit (Gameboy Advance, early 2003) Gameplay Continuing from the last Mario Kart game, Super Circuit uses some of the same principles as Mario Kart 64, this game also features new tracks and cups as well as bringing back the tracks from Super Mario Kart, adding to the game's replay value and fun factor. The game also uses the Gameboy Advance game link cable where (again) up to 4 players can play the game in either the original or classical tracks or even battle arenas. Reception Though, not as notable or even famous as it's predecessors, but nevertheless Super Circuit was one of the better games for the Gameboy Advance. Mario Kart: Double Dash (Gamecube, late 2003) Gameplay Becoming a bit old, the Mario Kart series had decided to stir in some new ingredients to the Mario Kart recipe. One of them is that you can choose 2 characters to drive one vehicle, this creates great versatility, if you're playing the game with another human player, one can drive while the other can use the items, what's even better is that you and a friend can choose to change places at anytime during a track in any race. Double Dash also has a series of secret features that you can unlock, and quite a few are required you to play the game on the hardest difficulty in order to unlock. Reception The reception of Double Dash was surprisingly well received despite being kind of plain with only few new features. Nevertheless, the game had new characters and even unlockable features. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo DS, 2007) Gameplay Complete Playlist One of the more better games for the Nintendo DS. Going back to the single driver feature of older Mario Kart games, Mario Kart DS brings brand new items as well as brand new features. The new items consist of the Bloober which obstructs your view of the track temporarily, Bob-Bombs that explode and even the Bullet Bill that not only boosts your speed, but also psuh other opponent karts out of your way. Mario Kart DS also has more unique karts that characters use, making the game more fun to play. The game also features a special character: R.O.B.: A robot created by Nintendo to promote the NES. Unlike Super Circuit, this game uses the Nintendo DS' Wi-Fi feature which also gives more opportunities for gamers to play the game, even those who don't have the game can play it if they have a Nintendo DS (albeit must play as a Shy Guy). The game also features tracks from previous Mario Kart games in not just one track cup race, but 4. Reception Once again, Mario Kart DS received a lot of good reviews with it's unlockable content and good use of the Nintendo DS' Wi-Fi connection feature. Mario Kart Wii (Wii, 2009) Gameplay Another Mario Kart game was created. This time, it's the Wii. Apart from some new items such as the Mega Mushroom (from New Super Mario Bros) and the POW block (From Super Mario Bros. 2), it also has new features and game modes as well as new characters (e.g., Rosalina). The game also lets you play as the Miis after meeting a certain criteria in the game. The game itself also has great versatility in terms of vehicles. You can either use a go kart or even a dirt bike, and you can perform airborne poses to gain a turbo boost. The game also uses a new (but forgettable) accessory: The Wii Wheel which allows you to use the Wii remote is it's an actual steering wheel, however the game also has a lot of versatility in controls as you can use the game with either the Wii Wheel, the Wii Remote/Nunchuck combo or with the Gamecube controller. The game also has wireless features where you can not just compare your best track records with others around the world, but you can compete with other Mario Kart Wii users around the world and even compete in tournaments that have very particular challenges. Recpetion The reception that Mario Kart Wii received was very good and considered one of the better games for the Wii with it's wireless features and competing against other players from around the world as well as the tournaments. Mario Kart 7 (Nintendo 3-DS, 2011) Gameplay Complete Playlist Taking some of the features from the previous 2 Mario Kart games, Mario Kart 7 is the leading racing game for the Nintendo 3-DS. What makes Mario Kart 7 unique is that not only you can customize the go karts (giving it unmatched parts where it can have a wire mesh frame with wooden wheels) and even has a water ruttier when you go underwater and a hand glider when you take it to the air (as some dash lines in some tracks will have). Again, you can unlock characters and other features as well as using the Nintendo 3-DS's Wi-Fi feature to compete against other players from around the world as well as comparing best track records. The game also has a feature that allows you to play the game in a first-person perspective, adding to the challenge of the game. Reception This game also received good reviews from fans and critics alike with it's Wi-Fi features and unlcokables. The game is very fun as well. Trivia * During the development of Mario Kart 64, it was titled Super Mario Kart R. * All of the Mario Kart games were themed by the previous Mario game that came after it. **''Super Mario Kart''/''Super Mario World'' **''Mario Kart 64''/''Super Mario 64'' **''Mario Kart: Super Circuit''/''Paper Mario'' **''Mario Kart: Double Dash''/''Super Mario Sunshine'' **''Mario Kart DS''/''New Super Mario Bros.'' **''Mario Kart Wii''/''Super Mario Galaxy'' **''Mario Kart 7''/''Super Mario 3-D Land'' *Throughout the entire Mario Kart series, there have been characters that were going to be in the game as they were in the beta test version of the games, but were eventually scrapped in the final version. **''Mario Kart 64'' was going to have Kamek the MagiKoopa (from''Super Mario World 2; Yoshi's Island''), but was dropped and was replaced by Wario. **''Mario Kart Wii'' was going to have a Hammer Bro. and a Paratroopa (from Super Mario Bros.) and Petey Piranha (from Super Mario Sunshine) as playable characters. **''Mario Kart DS'' was going to have Bowser Jr. as a playable character. However, by hacking into Mario Kart DS, you can choose Bowser Jr., he was supposed to be a lightweight character.